Guy Hugs
by TRUSSELL33
Summary: Angela finds out about Booth's guy hugs and hijinx ensue. This is a one shot.


I guess I should have explained to start with that this is a one shot. I'm very new to posting and am just figuring all this out so please bear with me.

**Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, but they do have more fun with me than they ever get to have over at Fox.**

Dr. Temperence Brennan slowly walked into her office at the Jeffersonian. She was engrossed in the contents of a file she held in her hands and failed to see or hear Angela Montenagro enter the room behind her and close the door.

"Sweetie," Angela squealed making Brennan jump and turn toward her. Angela was approaching with a huge smile on her face and both arms outspread for a hug. "When were you going to tell me?"

Brennan sighed and hugged her friend while saying with a wry smile, "Ange, I wish you would stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"That squeal thing. It startled me."

"Sorry sweetie, I couldn't help it after what I just saw. Now tell me everything," she gushed.

Brennan threw a rather confused look Angela's way. "About what?"

"About you and Booth, Bren," Angela was bouncing up and down and clapping her hands in her excitement.

Brennan's brows furrowed and she grabbed Angela's hands to hold her still. "Angela, I need you to calm down. I don't know what you mean."

"Bren, surely you are not going to try to convince me nothing is going on with you two NOW, are you?" Angela cried. Her smile had turned into a frown and she was getting genuinely upset.

Brennan looked at her friend in bafflement withiout a clue as to what she was talking about. "Ange," she was cut off by an angry Angela. "Brennan, I saw you and Booth all snuggled up in the parking garage after lunch. Why won't you just come clean and admit you guys did the deed?"

"What? Ange, I don't know what that means but I can infer that you think you saw Booth and me in an intimite situation and that made you conclude that we had had sexual intercourse," Brennan said in an upbeat voice with a smile and lots of hand gestures as she reasoned things out.

"Yes," responded Angela, once again smiling. "So, how was it?"

"Angela, Booth and I did _not_ have sex and we were not "snuggled up"," Brennan said in exasperation.

"Really?" Angela asked, eyebrows raised, "then what would you call it?"

Rolling her eyes and laughing at the same time, Brennan responded, "He was just giving me a guy hug, Ange."

Eyebrows rising even higher, Angela demanded, "What is a guy hug?"

"Angela, do we really have to talk about this right now? I have work to do." Brennan returned her attention to the file in her hands.

"Yes, Bren, we do have to talk about this right now. I'm not going away until you tell me and you know I can hold out a lot longer than you."

"Fine," sighed Brennan, sinking onto her couch and tossing the file on the coffee table.

"Great," smiled Angela, taking a seat beside Brennan and patting her leg. "Now tell me about these guy hugs."

"It's just a hug one guy gives to another guy, Ange, there is nothing sexual about it."

"Uh huh. How long has this been going on and how often does it happen?"

"It started a couple of years ago. We hugged each other whenever we were scared."

"So you were scared in the parking garage?"

Brennan snorted. "No. Booth just seems to hug a lot more lately."

"How much more?"

"It varies but for the last few monthes, usually a couple of times a day."

With a big smile, Angela asked, "So, Booth hugs all his FBI friends like that? Sid, maybe? Or his army buddies?"

Looking thoughtful, Brennan took a moment before responding. "No, I've never seen him hug anone else like that. I've never seen him hug another man at all." Starting to understand what Angela was getting at, Brennan rushed on, "Ange, just because I've never seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen."

"Bren, sweetie, there is no such thing as a guy hug. The only guys that hug each other are gay," Angela explained patiently. She knew Brennan was somewhat naive but _Wow_. She couldn't believe she had bought that.

"Are you saying that Booth lied to me?" At Brennan's tone, Angela glanced at her and saw that she was hurt by this possibility. Angela realized that she had to tread carefully here to avoid something very bad happening such as Brennan killing Booth.

"Not exactly," began Angela only to be cut off by an impatient Brennan.

"How can someone not exactly lie to you, Angela? If someone tells you something that is untrue, then it is, by definition, a lie." Brennan stated factually.

Trying a different angle, Angela asked, "Why do _you_ think Booth would tell you that?"

"I don't think he would. Booth wouldn't lie to me." Brennan stated without hesitation.

Deciding they would be there indefinitely if she tried to make Brennan reason out things for herself and reach the right conclusion, Angela just laid it all out for her, "Bren, he wants to hug you. He likes to hug you and using that "guy hug" thing, you let him hug you."

Brennan looked at her for several long seconds then burst into laughter. "Angela, I know you have this obsession about Booth and me getting together, but I have repeatedly told you that we are just partners. You have got to stop looking for signs where none exist.

_Ok, maybe I'm a little preoccupied with getting them together, but Obsessed_? Angela was a little insulted at Brennan's easy dismissal of her words of wisdom. To regain ground as someone with superior knowledge of men's actions, she rashly blurted out, "What if I can prove it?"

"How?" Brennan was interested in spite of herself.

"With an experiment, of course," Angela was grinning again knowing Brennan would never be able to resist going all scientist at the mention of an experiment. _Bingo_, she thought when Brennan's eyes lit up and her head tilted to the side.

"What kind of experiment?"

Channeling Brennan to the best of her ability, Angela explained, "I can't give you the exact parameters of the experiment because I need you to be the impartial judge. Telling you what I'm going to do could skew the results." She wasn't entirely sure what she had just said, but it had sounded good to her.

Brennan looked at her doubtfully. "That doesn't sound very scientific, Ange."

"Bren, please, just go with me on this, ok?" she pleaded.

"Ok."

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Angela was determined to come up with a brilliant experiment that would prove her point to Brennan and at the same time make Seeley Booth squirm. She really liked Booth and thought he was perfect for Brennan but she also thought he needed some punishment for using Brennan's naiveté as an opportunity to feel her up. Oh, she was sure it hadn't started out like that and she doubted that Booth grabbed her butt during his "guy hugs" but it was done under false pretences and in Angela's book that was unacceptable. The problem was that she had no idea what the experiment should be. So she went to the second most sciency person she knew for help.

"Hi, Hodgie," she purred, slinking up to his work station and giving him a sexy smile.

"Hi," Hodgins responded, eyebrows raised at her behavior. "Is there something I can help you with, Ange?" he asked suggestively.

"As a matter of fact, there is. I need a favor," she flirted.

"Would it happen to involve a visit to the Egyptian room?" he asked, leaning in closer.

"Not the actual favor, but your reward might," wink, wink.

"Count me in, then. So what is it, exactly, that I can do for you?" he asked, still flirting shamelessly.

"I need to figure out how to prove that guy hugs aren't real."

Hodgins just blinked with a "Huh?" expression on his face. "Come again."

With a sigh, Angela decided she would have to share the whole story with Hodgins to properly utilize his assistance. Taking his hand, she pulled him toward her office. "Hey, I have work to do," he protested.

"Trust me, this is worth taking a break for."

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15 MINUTES LATER IN ANGELA'S OFFICE

"So, you're saying that Booth has been feeling up Dr. B. for a couple of years now and she thinks it's all just guy hugs?" Hodgins recapped. "Wow. That is just so ....." his voice trailed off.

"Low down, dirty, sneaky?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of brilliant."

"What?" shrieked Angela in outrage.

"Come on, Angela. I'm pretty sure they would take away my guy card if I didn't admire the deviousness of it just a little. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as a guy hug. Maybe Dr. B. just likes to hug Booth."

"Oh, please, Hodgins." Angela rolled her eyes. "This is Bren we're talking about. She believes it because Booth said it. I just have to find some way to convince her otherwise."

"That's easy then. Just get Booth to tell her the truth."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Angela was getting very frustrated when a wicked thought occurred to her. "You know what, Hodgie? You are absolutely right. I know just how to take care of this. Thanks." Angela left her office with a wide grin on her face, leaving Hodgins sitting there with a look of confusion on his face.

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Three days later

"Come on, Bones. It will only take 10 minutes." Booth whined.

"No, Booth. I told you already that I'm busy. Don't be such a baby. I can't believe that you won't go to the security office by yourself. You're not afraid of Eric are you?" She grinned at him.

"Not afraid, but Eric has been trying to hug me for the last three days," Booth said with a shudder. For the last three days a hell of a lot of men had been trying to hug him at the Jeffersonian. The same thing had started happening at the FBI building this morning and he was at a loss to explain it.

Brennan tried to retain her impassive expression, but had to turn away to hide her smile, fighting to stifle giggles. She had been so puzzled when the first guy tried to hug him that she hadn't really noted Booth's reaction. By the third time, however, she had had one thought, _Angela_. She had closely studied Booth's expression and body language with each subsequent attempted "guy hug" and reached one inescapable conclusion. Booth did not hug guys. Ergo her hugs with Booth were not "guy hugs". She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wasn't angry. She didn't feel like he had lied to her. She was sure that he had a valid reason for giving her that excuse, but she did feel a little foolish for falling for it. Therefore, she was not above allowing Angela's little experiment to continue even after she had reached her conclusions. After all, one could never have too much data.

Brennan stifled a shriek as Booth suddenly stepped behind her, slid his arms around her waist and swung around, positioning her in front of him, facing one of her approaching grad students. A grad student who had been trying to hug Booth for three days. With one look from Brennan, he kept right on walking. "What the hell is wrong with all the men who work here lately?" Booth did not appear to notice that he still held Brennan tightly against his chest and spoke directly into her ear.

Brennan noticed. She noticed the shivery sensation that raced down her spine at the puff of his breath against her ear. She also noticed that she had to suppress a moan and a stronger shiver when the image of him taking her earlobe between his teeth popped into her mind. She turned her head toward him and found that their lips were only inches apart. She also found that Booth was looking at her with an expression in his eyes that she could only identify as lust. She caught her breath. Booth leaned in closer. "Maybe they think that you're cute."

His head movement stopped and he blinked at her in confusion. "What?"

"You asked what was wrong with all the men who work here. Maybe they think you're cute. Eric, Steven, Donald, James and John are all gay. I don't know about a lot of the others who have been trying to hug you, though."

"They think I'm _Gay_?" Booth had a look of abject horror on his face. In his agitation, he released Brennan, running both hands through his hair.

"I don't know what they think. You would have to ask them. Would it bother you if they did?"

"YES!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm not gay," he practically shouted.

"Don't yell at me, Booth. I never said you were gay," Brennan shouted right back.

Hodgins had been observing the couple for some time and decided to step in before this turned into one of their more legendary "discussions". "Booth" he called.

"What?" snapped Booth, still glaring at Brennan.

"Can I see you for a minute?"

"Why?"

"It's important." With a sigh of impatience, Booth made his way over to Hodgins.

"What?" he demanded.

"Dude, you didn't hear this from me, but you should go talk to Angela." Hodgins told him.

"Why?"

"Because she knows what's going on with all the guys trying to hug you."

"Hodgins, you are going to have to explain to me what the hell you are talking about." Booths supply of patience was dwindling fast.

"I'll take it from here, Hodgie. Hi, Booth."

"Angela, what do you have to do with all these guys trying to hug me?"

"Well, Booth, I heard that you like to give "guy hugs" so I might have told that to a few people." Angela explained with a smile.

"What?!" exploded Booth. "You know that now everyone will think I'm gay."

"Oh, how so?" Angela's eyebrow almost reached her hairline.

"Because, dammit, the only guys who hug each other are gay," he shouted in frustration.

Hearing a giggle behind him, he spun around to see Brennan laughing so hard she was clinging to the worktable to stay upright. _She knew about this. Oh, she was in so much_ _trouble_. Booth's eyes narrowed and his mouth curved in a wicked grin. So, they thought he was gay, did they? Booth walked up to Brennan, slid an arm around her waist and pulled her tightly to his chest. His other hand tangled in her hair and gently pulled her head back.

"Booth, what are?" her words were cut off when his mouth descended, his tongue immediately sweeping into her open mouth. This was no tentative kiss. It was hot and hard and left no doubt that Booth desired women, this woman in particular. Within moments, Brennan's arms were around his neck and she was an avid participant in the kiss. Angela was fanning herself with a file when they finally broke apart, staring into each other's eyes for a moment. Booth took Brennan's hand and pulled her into her office shutting the door behind them.


End file.
